THE CITY REBORN FROM THE ASHES OF AMERICA'S MOST DISASTROUS FOREST FIRE

Coleman Finishes Perfect Again!

Tops Peshtigo And Wausaukee For M-O Title

Thanks to a pair of one run wins over Peshtigo and Wausaukee, the Coleman Cougars put the finishing touches on a third straight 10-0 baseball campaign and the accompanying conference title. The championship is the sixth under head coach Kent Casper and includes crowns in 2002, 2204, 2009, 2011-12-13.

During the final week of M-O Conference play, Coleman scored twice in the sixth inning to edge Peshtigo 3-2 Thursday then withstood a late rash of errors and a 7th inning rally to dispose of Wausaukee Monday 8-7.

Looking at the overall picture of replacing a big part of our team from last year, the opportunity to win 30 straight league games is unreal, Coleman coach Kent Casper said. I am very proud of the team and the way they have come together during the season. Coming into this year, we knew our veterans would play a big role and everybody knew we had the pitching, but the younger kids have really developed for us. This is not a one or two player team, but 9 guys have combined their talents to make us successful.

Elsewhere around the M-O, Peshtigo claimed 3 of 4 games to finish in second place at 7-3 while Wausaukee had to settle for the number three spot and a 6-4 readout. The final league clash saw the Bulldogs register a 7-2 road win over the Rangers Tuesday.

-Wednesdays Results-

Rangers Rough

Up Gillett 13-3

Pounding out 13 hits, Wausaukee had no trouble taking care of host Gillett Wednesday 13-3 in a make up affair from last week. The Rangers jumped out to a 4-0 spread after two innings then tacked on 7 runs over the final three frames to win going away.

Aaron Schlies paced the offense with a pair of triples, single and a 3 runs scored, Beau DeLaet added two singles and 4 runs, Eddie Self 2 hits and 2 runs while Zach Struve punched out two safeties.

Self laced a triple to open the game then raced home as DeLaet singled, Schlies added a single while a ground out tallied the runs.

In the second frame, Russell Smith singled and scored while in the fourth DeLaet singled and Struve ripped a double for a 6-2 cushion.

Wausaukee sent 8 batters to the plate and scored 4 runs in the sixth, highlighted by a triple from Schlies, doubles by Smith and Dillon Meyers along with a single off the bat of winning pitcher Brennon Gabriel.

The Rangers capped the lopsided win with 3 runs in the seventh as Self and Schlies launched triples.

-Thursdays Results-

Coleman Rallies To

Top Peshtigo 3-2

Pushing across 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning sparked Coleman to a narrow 3-2 win over visiting Peshtigo and the outright title in the M-O. The Cougars punched out 6 hits against Peshtigo pitchers Zach Neumann and Jordan Berth, but couldnt connect on the key hit early and faced that late game deficit.

We had our opportunities throughout the game and the kids showed plenty of resiliency scoring twice in the sixth for the win. We had bases loaded in the sixth inning with no outs and I thought here we go again...outhit Peshtigo 6-2 but trailed 2-1. I thought what a shame this would be to lose, but they came back. If we could have got a big hit early, Peshtigo might have buried their heads and we wouldnt have needed all the excitement at the end. It didnt work out that way, but we were fortunate to win, Casper said.

Coleman did have its share of wasted scoring opportunities against Neumann early. The Cougars loaded the bases with no outs to start the game and did not score, had two runners on in the second and scored one run while putting a trio of runners on base in the 6th.

It was a well played game, but both teams wasted scoring opportunities. We had our chances in the second and third innings but couldnt get the big hit, Peshtigo coach Pat Robbins said. Coleman has that knack of feeding off other teams mistakes and that is what they did to us in the sixth as an error opened the gates for them.

In the opening frame, Trevor Seewald singled to start the game while Marquardt got aboard on an infield single. Mason Mergener drew a free pass to load the bases. But Neumann worked his way out of the jam by striking out Jackson Margis and Dexter Karban along with getting Blake Margis on a pop up to the catcher.

Alex Stodola walked to start the second inning and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Mitch Woulf. After Nick Sailer lined out to third base, Seewald sent a RBI single to right center for a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs tallied both of their runs in the third on just one hit. Designated hitter Dakota Keller walked, stole second and moved to third on a balk by Marquardt. Trevor Bero singled in Keller then scored the second run on a passed ball.

Neumann protected that 2-1 lead until the sixth, when Coleman scored twice for the win. Blake Margis got aboard when his grounder was booted by second sacker Andrew Majewski. Karban followed with a single and Stodola walked. Neumann got Woulf to pop up to third for the first out before freshman Sailer sent a sac fly to right to score Blake Margis for a 2-2 deadlock.

Seewald kept the inning alive with a walk to reload the bases and mark the end of the night for Neumann. Coach Robbins went to reliever Jordan Berth, who walked Marquardt on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run. Berth escaped further trouble with a strikeout of Mergener.

When we took Zach out he was around 102 pitches and started getting everything up. Jordan thought he threw Marquardt a pair of strikes on the outside corner, but they were called balls. Our catcher thought the same thing, Robbins added.

Marquardt finished the game strong, striking out Keller but walked Bero who moved to second on a bunt by Majewski. With two outs, Marquardt threw his fastball past Brendan Thomas to end the game.

Derek Marquardt threw a great game for us with 11 strikeouts and two hits allowed. He showed plenty of composure late in the game when we needed him. Derek came through big time in the clutch for us, Casper concluded.

Rangers Rough Up

Crivitz Again 10-0

With Aaron Schlies tossing a nifty one-hitter, Wausaukee whipped Crivitz in 5 innings 10-0 and marked the second time this season they won by a rule rule. Schlies stole the show by registering 8 strikeouts and one walk over 5 innings. The only hit he allowed was a single by losing pitcher Cody Wolf in the third inning.

The Rangers owned a 5-0 lead after three frames then put the game away with 5 more runs in the fifth.

Wolf took the loss yielding 10 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts during an 88 pitch performance.

Eddie Self singled to open the game, moved to third on an error and scored on a bunt by Beau DeLaet.

In the second frame Zach Struve and Dillon Meyers walked before Conner Kempinski drilled a two-run single.

DeLaet singled and raced home on a triple by Schlies in the third inning while Struve added a sac fly for a 5-0 spread.

Nine Rangers strolled to the plate during a 5-run fifth inning. A walk, error, singles by Self, DeLaet and Schlies along with a RBI double off the bat of Struve did the damage.

Derek Zahn Fans 10

As Gillett Tips Titans

Gillett righthander Derek Zahn fashioned a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts to key a 6-4 win over Lena-STAA in a game that went 5 2/3 innings. Zahn saw his mates enjoy a 5-0 spread after three frames before rain and cold enabled the Titans to score two runs each in the fourth and sixth frames.

Jeremy Cibulka paced Gillett with a double and two runs scored, Bryan Cibulka double and one run while Eric Fischer and Travis Temple lashed singles.

Kiefer Powers collected the only two hits for the Titans and scored twice.

Dom Ramirez was tagged with the loss.

-Fridays Results-

Bulldogs Knock

Off Lena-STAA

A game which took 3 days to complete saw visiting Peshtigo knock off Lena-STAA Friday afternoon 9-5. The contest, which began on May 2 but suspended after 1 1/2 innings, was rescheduled for May 3. Wet grounds forced the game to be cancelled again and finally played on May 10.

Peshtigo overcame a 4-1 second inning deficit by scoring 5 runs in the third and 4 in the sixth to win going away.

A RBI single by Kiefer Powers and run scoring grounder put the Titans up 4-1, a lead they would not keep.

Peshtigo used walks to Brendon Thomas and Andrew Majewski to open the third inning while Derrik Maye lashed a run scoring single. Two more walks, two Titan errors and a hit batsmen sent the final 3 runs home for a 6-4 spread.

Singles by Powers and Austin Zorn got the Titans within 6-5 in the fourth before the Bulldogs tallied 4 more runs in the sixth to win going away. Two more Titan fielding miscues along with a run scoring double by winning pitcher Matt Borkovec sparked the rally.

Kiefer Powers went the distance for the Titans giving up 9 runs (5 earned) on 5 hits with 8 walks and 7 strikeouts.

Their pitcher Powers had trouble throwing strikes, so we took a number of pitches. It paid all along with a couple of hits and taking advantage of some errors, Robbins said.

-Mondays Results-

Coleman Hangs On

To Tip Wausaukee

Looking to sew up their third straight 10-0 campaign, the Cougars nearly gave it away in the final inning before hanging on and turning back host Wausaukee 8-7. Coleman took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the 7th before two errors almost proved fatal.

Beau DeLaet and Aaron Schlies hit fly balls which were dropped by shortstop Trevor Seewald and leftfielder Derick Teteak while Cole Lewandowski was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Things got worse as Russell Smith grounded out and Zach Struve was beaned. Following another groundout, number 9 hitter Tyler Parr was walked after being down 0-2 to reload the bases. Reliever Derek Marquardt ended the game with a strikeout of Eddie Self.

It certainly wasnt a pretty win and we just didnt make the routine plays at the end, but bottom line the kids got the job done, Casper said. In that final inning we had numerous chances to put the game away but couldnt because of an error or walk. Fortunately Derek came through with that big strikeout to finish the game.

Seewald and number nine swinger Nick Sailer banged out two hits each while the Margis brothers collected a pair of RBIs each.

Losing pitcher Beau DeLaet and Smith lashed 3 hits each for Wausaukee while Aaron Schlies scored a trio of runs. Smith also drove in 3 runs.

Coleman pushed its lead to 3-0 in the third inning as Sailer singled, Seewald got aboard on an error and Mergener ripped a two-run single.

Wausaukee came right back in the bottom of the frame scoring 3 runs on 4 hits...singles by Self, DeLaet, Schlies and Smith.

Five more Coleman runners crossed the plate in the fifth on 5 hits, highlighted by a two-run single from Blake Margis and two-run double off the bat of Jackson Margis.

DeLaet worked 5 innings before giving way to Cole Lewandowski as the pair fanned 4 and walked one.

Bulldogs Slip

Past Gillett

A trio of Peshtigo hurlers combined to toss a tight two-hitter in a 3-1 road win over Gillett. Matt Borkovec earned the mound win with 5 innings of two hit ball, fanning 5 and walking one. Jordan Berth had one whiff in the sixth while Zach Neumann collected a pair of strikeouts in the 7th.

Peshtigo leadoff hitter Brendon Thomas singled and scored on a single by Derek Koronkiewicz.

Gillett got even in its half of the first as Jeremy Cibulka singled and raced home on a single by losing pitcher Derek Zahn.

The final two runs of the game came in the Peshtigo half of the second inning as Marcus Sharkey and Trevor Bero got aboard on errors and later scored on a stolen base and a grounder.

Derek Zahn took the loss giving up 3 runs ( one earned) on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts and no walks.

Crivitz Cleans Up

On Lena-STAA 11-1

Taking advantage of some shoddy fielding, Crivitz scored 5 runs in the second inning and 4 in the sixth to race past host Lena-STAA 11-1. The Wolverines collected 6 hits and 5 walks to go along with 8 unearned runs off losing pitcher Kiefer Powers.

Cody Wolf earned the mound win scattering 3 hits and fanning 8 over 6 innings of work with 2 walks.

The 5-run Crivitz second saw the Titans commit 2 errors to go along with singles by Dan Tomaszewski and AJ Garcia. Wolf ripped a RBI single in the fourth while Jake Sawinski tripled and raced home on a wild pitch in the fifth.

Two more errors enabled Crivitz to tally 4 runs in the sixth and cut the game short.

The Titans wasted a golden scoring opportunity in the opening inning as Dom Ramirez, Brennan Bardowski and Powers punched consecutive singles. Unfortunately no runs scored as the inning ended on a strikeout, an ill-fated suicide squeeze which cut down Ramirez at the plate and Powers got picked off first base.

-Tuesdays Results-

Pitching Sends Dogs

Past Wausaukee 7-2

Jordan Berth and Zach Neumann combined their mound talents to toss a 3-hitter as Peshtigo closed out M-O play with a 7-2 win at Wausaukee. Berth worked the first 4 frames allowing 2 runs on 2 hits with 6 strikeouts. Neumann got the call for the final 9 outs, fanning 5 while yielding one hit and one run.

Leadoff hitter Brendon Thomas walked, moved to second on a bunt by Gunner Kinney before being joined on the sacks by Dakota Keller and Derek Koronkiewicz with walks. Thomas eventually scored as Marcus Sharkey grounded into a fielders choice.

Peshtigo upped the lead to 3-0 in the second inning as Keller walked and Koronkiewicz was hit by a pitch. Both runners moved up 90 feet on a bunt by Sharkey, before DJ Messenger and Tom Quigley added a grounder and double.

Wausaukee put together its lone scoring surge in the fourth to close within 3-2. Beau DeLaet ripped a triple to open the frame and scooted home on a single by losing pitcher Aaron Schlies. Two walks and a grounder plated Schlies.

The Bulldogs put the game away with 3 more runs in the fifth on just one hit. Three straight batters were beaned by Schlies as Keller, Koronkiewicz and Sharkey got aboard. The hit batsmen marked the end of the line for Schlies as reliever Cole Lewandowski took over. It didnt matter as Messenger ripped a 3-run double for a 7-2 spread.

Schlies gave up just 3 hits but saw 5 walks and a trio of beanballs do him in.

-Non League Results-

Coleman Clobbers

Sevastopol 14-2

Punching out 19 hits, Coleman had no trouble taking care of host Sevastopol Friday 14-2. Mason Mergener sparked the lopsided win at the plate and on the mound. Mergener went 4-5 with 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored while also tossing a 5-hitter over 6 innings. Mergener fanned 6 and did not walk any.

Coleman jammed the plate for 6 runs on 5 hits in the second inning as Mergener ripped a 3-run double and Blake Margis RBI single.

Four more Cougars raced home in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run single from Stodola. Coleman closed out the game with 3 runs in the sixth on 4 straight hits...singles by Marquardt, Mergener and Jackson Margis while Blake Margis added a RBI double.

Cody Giessman had two hits for Sevastopol.

Crivitz Falls Twice

At Freedom Meet

It was a rough Saturday for the Wolverines, losing to host Freedom 7-3 and Gibraltar 6-5 at the round robin tournament.

Southpaw AJ Garcia was roughed up for 10 hits over 7 innings on the mound in suffering the 6-5 loss to Gibraltar. Garcia walked 3, fanned 5 and was touched for 5 earned runs.

Sawinski swung the big bat for Crivitz with a double and two singles while Dominic Basso and Garcia punched out two singles each.

Wolverines Walk

Past Niagara 11-1

Taking advantage of 14 walks, Crivitz had no trouble disposing of host Niagara Tuesday 11-1. The Wolverines managed just 3 hits off the bats of Schwartz, Basso and Brad Shearer to lead 8-1 after 3 innings.